we are a general contractor building residential homes-material, labor etc is classified as work in progress and changed to COGS when the house sells-do we use items or classes for materials, subs, etc to track job costs-we dont keep inventory we are strictly a builder
Contstuction is a very detailed type of accounting. I would recommend you get the book Contractor's Guide to Quickbook Pro 2004 (if that's your version) and read it on how to set all this up. It's way too detailed to go into here. It also comes with a company file all set up you can use. It also covers spec homes and draws, etc. Find it here:
http://www.craftsman-book.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/cbcstore/prodpages/info/qb4/bkcover.htm?L+cbcstore+ubkd2581
I saw your recommendation (March 2004) of this book to a general contractor asking about the use of items vs classes.
Do you have/use this book? I started a renovations contracting business in Nov '03 using the QB Premier for Contractor's version, and am incredibly frustrated trying to do change orders (that make sense, having used the 2-part hard copy forms for years), payroll, time tracking, etc.
Everyday I wonder if Intuit actually had any contractors' advice on this Premier for Contractors software. If you're a contractor, what version do you use? Any other QB manuals/resources that you'd suggest?
The class list command appears in the LIST menu only if you have enabled the classes feature.
Classes provide a method of organizing your activities (income and disburseement activities) to produce reports that you need. Many times, a well-designed chart of accounts will eliminate the need for classes, but if you still want to use them, you can create them ahead of time through the LIST menu.
